Mammoet completes installation of New Safe Confinement in Chernobyl

The heavy lift specialist moved the confinement at the request of Novarka, a joint venture between VINCI Construction Grand Projets and Bouygues Travaux Publics, responsible for the construction of the arch.

The New Safe Confinement replaces an old shelter that was installed as an emergency measure to contain the radioactive materials in the destroyed unit shortly after the disaster in 1986.

It provides a controlled and weatherproof environment where the solid radioactive remains of the destroyed unit can be held for the next 100 years. At 165m long, 260m wide and 110m tall, the arch could house the Statue of Liberty, or the Notre Dame Cathedral.

With a weight of approximately 36,200t, the shelter is about three times as heavy as the Eiffel Tower.

Mammoet skidded the arch from its construction site to the reactor building using a skidding system that has been specially designed for the project. The skidding system is fully remote-controlled and consists of 116 skid shoes with an average capacity of 700t each.

The skid shoes were completely synchronized on both sides of the structure to ensure a smooth and even operation. The tracks of this system were installed in a 33° angle to optimize the load transfer onto the foundations.

Mammoet also conducted all the jack up and skidding operations during construction of the arch.

This was ‘a highly challenging task requiring new approaches in engineered heavy lifting and transport,’ the company said.

The arch was built in two parts at a ‘special erection area’, a decontaminated area at safe distance from the reactor. Each half of the arch was elevated during three jack-up operations, allowing crews to work at lower heights, increasing cost-effectiveness and improving operational safety.

After construction of the first half was finished, it was skidded into a special parking area, clearing the area for the construction of the second half of the arch.

Upon completion of the second half, the two parts were connected by skidding the first part towards the second part.